SCR reactor technology is being used with increasing frequency to treat the exhaust gases from an industrial process, such as energy production, before the gas is released to the atmosphere. The SCR reactor process relies on the use of proprietary catalyst to treat the exhaust gas as the gas passes through the SCR reactor. Because the catalyst is an integral part of the chemical reaction, great effort is used to provide maximum exposure of the catalyst to the exhaust gas and to insure that all the exhaust gas comes into contact with sufficient catalyst for treatment.
The catalyst has a limited effective service life. The catalysts are typically held within catalyst beds which must be removed and replaced with beds containing new catalyst at regular intervals. Therefore, great attention must be paid to the design so that this exchange of catalyst bed can be undertaken quickly with a minimum of effort. A need exists for further advancement in this regard, while maintaining the fundamental requirement of forming an effective seal between the catalyst beds and the catalyst reactor to insure that all exhaust gas pass through the catalyst.